Russia passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | 70-80%ICAO 9303 general rule, not published by the authority The authority publishes no head height. This band is the generic ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 portrait rule, head 70-80% of the image height, which is also what every authority in this data set that publishes a percentage gives. |
| Background | Plain white background with no objects behind the person and no shadows; good even lighting, daylight preferred |
| Glasses | Allowed, as long as the eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tint. |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open. |
| Head covering | Only for religious or medical reasons, and the face must be visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead. |
| Ears | No |
| Also required |
|
Russia issues two passports and the photo answer differs. The old style five year passport still needs printed 3.5 x 4.5 cm photographs handed in at the appointment. The new style ten year biometric passport is photographed on the spot by the Interior Ministry officer, and any photo uploaded through Gosuslugi is only used inside the application file. The rules listed here are the ones Gosuslugi publishes for the uploaded photo and they are the same for both. Not captured: the digital upload rules (file format, size in kilobytes, dpi, pixel dimensions). They live in the MVD administrative regulations, and on the day of writing mvd.ru, the Cyrillic mvd domain and pravo.gov.ru all timed out from this machine, while the only reachable copies of those orders were on a commercial legal database, which is not an acceptable source for a published number. No maximum photo age in months is published for Russia.
Applying in Russia
Russia issues two travel passports and the photograph question has two different answers. The old style five year book still runs on paper: an adult or a child of fourteen and over hands in three printed photographs of 35 by 45, and a child under fourteen hands in two. The new style ten year biometric book uses no photograph you supply. An Interior Ministry officer photographs you at the appointment, and that capture is the image printed in the document.
The photograph you attach to a Gosuslugi application is therefore not the passport photograph. Gosuslugi states that it stays in the case file and is never printed in the book. That one fact decides how much care each route deserves. For a biometric application the upload only has to be a fair likeness the office can work from. For an old style application the prints you carry to the counter are the picture, and a bad set means a second visit.
Two things we could not confirm, and we would rather say so than fill them in. No Russian page we could reach publishes a maximum age for a passport photograph, so the only published test is that the picture matches your present appearance. The file rules for the Gosuslugi upload, the format, the kilobytes and the resolution, sit in Interior Ministry regulations, and on the day we checked mvd.ru, the Cyrillic ministry domain and pravo.gov.ru all timed out. We will not quote those numbers out of a commercial legal database.
Why photos get rejected here
A photograph that no longer looks like you
Gosuslugi asks for a picture that matches the person's current age rather than one taken at some point in the past. Because no month limit is published, this is the rule that does the work, and an old picture is judged against the face at the counter.
Glare on the lenses of everyday glasses
Someone who wears glasses all the time is expected to be photographed in them, so removing them is not the fix. The published conditions are that the eyes stay clearly visible, the lenses do not flare and the frame does not sit over the eyes.
Headwear, including a cap kept on indoors
No headwear is accepted. Where religion requires the head to be covered, the covering is allowed but the oval of the face has to stay clearly visible, which usually means setting a scarf back off the hairline.
A service uniform
A photograph in a service uniform is not accepted. This catches people who take the picture at work in the clothes they wear all day, and it slips past unnoticed because nothing about the pose is wrong.
Anything else in the frame of a child's photograph
A child must be alone in the picture, with no other person and no object. A hand steadying a small head, a chair back or a toy each break that rule, and this is the fault that most often sends a family back for a second set of prints.
Uneven light or a background with something behind you
The published wording asks for a plain white background with nothing behind the person, no shadows and good even lighting, with daylight preferred. A wall lit from one side fails on the lighting even when the colour is right.
What helps
Settle which passport you are applying for first
The five year book and the ten year biometric book need opposite preparation. One wants prints in your hand at the counter, the other wants nothing at all because the officer takes the picture.
Count the prints before you go
Three for an adult or a child of fourteen and over, two for a child under fourteen, all at 35 by 45. Our print sheet lays them out on one page so a single sheet covers the whole set.
Treat the Gosuslugi upload as paperwork, not as the portrait
It is filed with the application and never printed in the passport. Getting it right avoids a query on the file; it does not decide what the document looks like.
Wear your glasses if you always wear them
The rule expects the photograph to look like you on an ordinary day. Take them off only if you cannot get rid of the reflection, and never wear tinted lenses.
Change out of a service uniform
The ban on uniform is absolute and it is not about smartness. Any ordinary shirt or top with a plain neckline works instead.
Photograph a child against the wall, not in someone's arms
No part of a helper may appear. Laying a baby on a plain white sheet and shooting from directly above is the usual way round this, keeping the camera square so the face is not foreshortened.
Babies and young children
Russia gives children no relaxation on the picture itself: the published rule is that a child's photograph must meet the same requirements as an adult's. What is different is the count and the company. A child under fourteen hands in two prints for the old style passport rather than three, and the child must be alone in the frame with no other person and no other object visible. There is no exception for a closed eye or an open mouth of the kind Poland and Switzerland publish, so a very young baby is best photographed lying on a plain white sheet, from directly above, with whoever is steadying the head fully out of shot.
Glasses
Glasses are treated as part of how you normally look. Someone who wears them all the time should be photographed in them, and the conditions are that both eyes stay clearly visible, that nothing flares on the lenses and that no part of the frame crosses the eyes. Sunglasses are not accepted at all. There is no medical exemption published for tinted lenses, which is stricter than the wording used in several European countries, so plan on clear lenses. If the reflection will not go, moving the light off the lens axis fixes it more reliably than taking the glasses off, because a photograph without them is a photograph that looks less like you.
Head covering
The default is that the head is bare: no hats, no caps and no service headgear. The single exception is religious, and it is written narrowly. If your religion requires the head to be covered, the covering may stay on provided the oval of the face remains clearly visible. Nothing in the published wording asks for a written declaration or a certificate from a religious community, which is a lighter requirement than Poland's, but nothing promises the counter will not ask either. Set the covering back from the hairline so the forehead, both cheeks and the chin are inside the visible oval.
Applying online
An application for either passport can be started on Gosuslugi, and the portal asks you to attach a photograph. It is important to know what that upload is for: it is filed with the application and it is never printed in the passport. For the biometric book the picture that ends up in the document is taken by the Interior Ministry officer at your appointment. For the old style book the prints you hand over at the counter are the ones used. Whichever route you take, the appointment itself is unavoidable.
Questions about Russia photos
Do I bring printed photos for a Russian biometric passport?
No. For the ten year biometric book the Interior Ministry officer photographs you at the appointment. Prints are needed only for the old style five year book.
Why does Gosuslugi ask for a photo if the officer takes one?
The uploaded image belongs to the application file and is never printed in the passport. It identifies the case rather than becoming the document portrait.
How many prints does the old style five year passport need?
Three for an adult or a child aged fourteen and over, and two for a child under fourteen. All of them at the same printed size.
Does Russia publish a maximum age for the photograph?
Not on any page we could reach. The published test is that the picture matches your current appearance, which is judged against the face in front of the clerk.
Why does this page not give a file size for the Gosuslugi upload?
Because we could not read the rule on a government host. The Interior Ministry regulations that carry it were unreachable when we checked, and we do not publish numbers taken from commercial legal databases.
Can a parent appear in a child's photograph?
No. The child must be alone in the frame, with no other person and no object. Anyone steadying a baby has to stay completely out of shot.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Kakoe foto nuzhno dlya zagranpasporta (which photo is needed for a passport)checked September 2, 2026
- Chem razlichayutsya zagranpasporta novogo i starogo obraztsov (difference between the new and old passport)checked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers